ben w. fey

subway walk

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800

While watching the jazz band play the other day in the subway station, I took a moment to just watch the people rushing by as they run to the various subway platforms.

herald square

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800

Sometimes on my way back to the apartment after work I just stop and listen to the music in the subway station. This is a photo of the bass guitarist for the Alex LoDico Jazz Ensemble. Pretty fun group to watch and listen to after a day of work.

park here

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800

Yesterday I went to an architecture lecture at Columbia (two UVa professors were presenting, along with several other professors from various architecture programs). After I got back to the apartment, I figured I would take the camera out. Nothing. I just didn't like the photos I took.

Today, I took my camera to work so I could take some photos around the city afterwards. I didn't get too far. This is a parking sign that is right down the street from the office.

from the ground up

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:00:00 -0800

A lot has happened since my last post (for example, after graduating in May, I now have an architecture job in New York City). I love the city and can't believe I have not been carrying my camera around with me. I feel like I need to re-learn how to take photos on a regular basis.

I feel like I need to start over on this photoblog (from the ground up). This photo is of Times Square (well, at least the trash and part of the street). I kind of took the "starting over" expression "from the ground up" a bit literally with this photo.

it has been a while

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 20:00:00 -0800

It has been a long time since I posted and a lot has happened since then as well. First off, I graduated from college (crazy I know) and now I am in the hunt for a job.

I need to shot more photos. Tomorrow I plan on going out with the old Holga (with some 35mm). This photo is of the chapel at the University of Virignia. I was bored one day and started messing around in Photoshop (trust me, this isn't usually my style of photo processing). I know what some people will think: "oh my Ben used way too much Photoshop," but hey, I am just trying something different to get me back into shotting again. Hopefully it works.

enjoy life. (I know, what a cheezy thing to say)

zorki results

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:00:00 -0800

Here is one of my favorite shots from my Zorki 4 test roll of film. This photo was taken on The Lawn at the University of Virginia.

Speaking of The Lawn... Today was a beautiful day in Charlottesville. Too bad I now have a flat tire on my bike.

I will most likely be posting more images from my test roll in the next couple of days. Man I'm loving film right now.

Milton

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 04:00:00 -0800

This is a photo of the administrative building at Milton. Milton, an airfield owned by the University of Virginia, was used during WWII to train pilots. Today Milton is used by the architecture school, engineering school, recycling center, etc. The place is a bit creepy at night, but during the day is pretty interesting to look at. You can find out more information about Milton here.

So, I have good news and bad news. The good, I got my Zorki 4 test roll of film back yesterday. The camera seems to be working fine and I even was able to get good exposures using the sunny-16 rule! (maybe I can wait to buy a light meter for this camera?). The bad news is that they did a bad job printing my photos. There were large lines across the prints that were not on the negatives. The camera store is reprinting them for me at no extra cost. They should be ready on Thursday and then I will post some of my favorites.

passage

Mon, 7 Apr 2008 04:00:00 -0800

I am really liking Adobe Lightroom so far. I have only been messing with the trial version of 1.3 (note to Adobe Lightroom users, version 2.0 is in public beta right now). Today was an overcast day, hopefully tomorrow the sun will come out.

This photo was taken in Venezia (Venice) this past summer.

enjoy.

waiting

Sun, 6 Apr 2008 04:00:00 -0800

I dropped of my first roll of film that I shot with my new Zorki 4. It should be in either Monday or Tuesday. I am very excited about this. This test roll will tell me two things. One, if the camera is in good working condition and two, if I need to buy a light meter or not. We shall see.

Thanks for the comments on my last photo.

This photo was quickly processed in Adobe Lightroom. I just downloaded the 30-day trial and am seeing if I like the software. When processing this image, I was going for the "old" look. I'll see in the next couple of days if I like Lightroom better than Photoshop.

zorki 4

Tue, 1 Apr 2008 04:00:00 -0800

It is now 2:03am. I should really be going to bed, but I really wanted to post a photo of my new camera. I bought it the other week on eBay, and it actually arrived here today (much earlier than I thought it would).

It now has a fresh roll of film in it and I'm excited to take some photos with it. Now, I just need to figure out the light meter issue, as it does not have one. I guess I could meter of my Nikon d80 for now. I want to buy a light meter, any suggestions?

Some quick history about this camera:

This is a Zorki 4 rangefinder camera. This particular model was made in 1958 (you can tell by the serial number engraved on the back). You can find out more information about these cameras here.

figure in the field

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0800

This week is going to be a busy week with working on the Learning Barge project. Because of this, I figured I would post photos that pertain to the project this week (when I'm not busy working in AutoCAD or doing construction). I took this photo on our site visit in January (man time is flying by, graduation will be here before I know it!).

apartment night #1

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0800

Again, I am trying to take photos that I normally do not take. I just bought the Nikon ML-L3 wireless remote for my Nikon d80, which is fun. This is an almost 4 minute exposure of my apartment. I think I could have gone a little longer, but decided not to obsess over this as it is now 3:11am and I need sleep.

good night.

p.s. for those who care (perhaps someone else out there understands), I just bought myself a Zorki 4 (model a) off ebay! Oh, I'm excited!

room

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0800

Just trying something a bit more abstract (something I'm not completely used to doing). This is a long exposure of my room with the lights off. What I did was zoom in and around my room for around 40 seconds to see what the results would be. Nothing too serious, just experimenting with longer exposures, zooming while taking a photo, etc.

Let me know if you love it, hate it, or if you are just scratching your head saying "why Ben, why?"

construction

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0800

Construction for the learning barge is going well. A lot to do, not many weeks left in the semester. The old airplane hangar that we are building in is pretty neat. This is just a photo of the side door. I will post more photos of this place as the weeks go by (mostly because that is where I will be spending a lot of my time).

Yesterday was a rainy day. Hopefully today will be sunny?

stain

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0800

I can't believe today is Wednesday. Time is going by way too fast.

Yesterday I went to the local camera store to pick up my two 120 rolls of film (Holga). Some of the photos came out pretty well. That plastic camera is sharper than I thought it would be. If I can get a scan of my prints or negatives that I like, I will try and post some of photos.

At the camera shop I used the AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8D, it was very nice. I'm curious to see what the new AF-S Micro-Nikkor 60mm f/2.8G ED is like. Anyone use or own the new or old 60mm? Just curious what you think about it.

enjoy.

Torcello

Mon, 17 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0800

I was just looking through my photos from Italy and noticed that I have a ton of photos that I want to work on. Originally when I got back from Italy, I picked my 48 favorite photos [out of 1800+]. I now am going back and looking through my other photos from the trip to see if I find any I like. This one was one I like. It is from the island of Torcello [Venice]. I should be picking up my first two rolls of 120 that I shot with my Holga on Tuesday - I'm excited. Oh yea, and I get to browse the camera store again [always fun].

Rainy Day

Sun, 16 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0800

I posted one of these four photos earlier (the forth photo), but really like having all four of the series together, so I'm posting this post to show you all four photos. This photo was taken on a rainy day in Vicenza Italy this past summer. I feel that these photos are stronger together than seperate. Thoughts? You can see a larger version of the forth photo that I posted earlier here.

shadows

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:00:00 -0800

I still have not been able to drop of my 120 film that I shot with my Holga. Here is a photo I took during this past fall. I was just looking through some old photos and happened to like this one. It is now 3:12am, so I should go and get some sleep.

Holga time

Sun, 9 Mar 2008 05:00:00 -0800

so, yes, this isn't a perfect photo. I am quite aware of this. I had to post this image, not because it is a good photo, but because it means that I now own a Holga 120N. This past week I shot a roll of 120 and 35mm. I will be sending my 120 roll out tomorrow (hopefully there will be some good shots). Today I quickly developed my 35mm roll, nothing good really, just had to see what I was getting myself into. I posted this image a little smaller than I'm used to, 800 pixels is a bit wide for a Holga photo!

bird

Fri, 7 Mar 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I just finished version 1.0 of my new portfolio website [benwfey.com]. It is now 2:19am and time for some much needed sleep.

reflection

Tue, 4 Mar 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Sorry my blog has been down for the past couple days. I was in the process of changing my pixyblog web address. My pixyblog can be found at: http://blog.benwfey.com and my portfolio website is found at www.benwfey.com (my old pixyblog address).

I am working on updating my pixyblog site (I lost my about page, so I will be posting a new one soon). I have also been working on getting my architecture portfolio up and running. I am hoping that something will be up in the next couple days. You can get to my portfolio site if you click the link on top of my pixyblog page.

This is a photo I took during one trip to NYC. This is a reflection of my feet against the glass window. This photo was taken in the MoMA.

walking

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

It has been too long since I posted (I tend to say that phrase too often, this bugs me). It is going to be a long week at school. Ahh, spring break is soon. This is good. I never know how much text to write and then when I do write something, I wonder what people think about what I typed. I need to stop doing this and just write, write what I'm thinking, why I chose a particular photo, not worry about spelling (I'm bad about spelling, reel bad). But really, here is a photo. For some reason I liked the look of this photo. I like the dusty path, the lonely leaf.

and yes, I know I spelled real wrong, twas a joke.

the power of line weight

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I never really look underneath my desk, but perhaps I should more often. I was happily surprised by the interesting lines that the power cords for my computer make against my wall.

13_14_15_16_17

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I have not really taken many photos outdoors lately. Instead I tend to work on school work and then every now and then take some photos around my room to take a break from said school work. I think this photo and the next photo I post are a bit bolder or more abstract than I'm used to taking, but are just a view of the space around me. This photo is of a measuring tape that I have placed on my wall. I use this tape measure as a way to hang photos on my wall.

bike

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Another photo from Italy.

Not much to say, working on studying for a test I have in just under 12 hours. Figured I would take a break and post a photo to my blog.

red cards #2

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

There is something about photographing a deck of cards. I don't understand it, but for some reason, I really like the way the playing cards look in a photograph. Is is the scale issue? is the the bright red color? I don't know, probably a bit of both.

This is red cards #2 because I posted another red card photo earlier (my second post to my pixyblog actually), which can be found here. I took more photos of these cards, so perhaps you will see more of these.

blue box #2

Sat, 9 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I know it has been a while since I posted. I am still being inspired on a daily basis, just haven't posted any photos. I tend to take this photoblog too seriously. I have been working on various daily photoblogs for about a year now. Some have worked, some haven't. I tired other photoblog sites, tried posting photos on my own website, I really like the pixyblog community. good place.

well, I should get some work done,

enjoy,

ben w. fey

stir?

Tue, 5 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

so, I was talking to my good friend e.scott today at dinner saying that I have really been wanting to have a name for my photoblog. after dinner, I was about to sit down at my desk and do some work for school (which didn't happen right away). I instead opened Microsoft Word and starting typing.

I wrote the phrase "being inspired one day at a time." I like this, it is not about me or my photography, but instead focuses on the fact that I am constantly inspired by the world around me (whether it is a soy sauce container, or a 50 story skyscraper). Yes, I'm on to something here.

I then looked up "inspired" with the thesaurus, which lead me to looking up "inspire," which lead me to "stir." stir, I like the sound of that.I then looked up the definition of stir:

stir / v. / to inspire; to affect with strong emotion.

perfect. I also see the word as a command, telling me to look at the world around me and notice the small things (perhaps, I do need a Micro lens?). Stir can also agitate: stir / v. / to stir up trouble; to awaken.

to make a long story short, I think I'm working on figuring out my name for my blog. the photo is of a spoon I drew with pen (perhaps my logo?), scanned into my computer and then colored with photoshop (I really like this process). So if someone is actually reading this, I would love to hear some feedback about this.

stir. / being inspired one day at a time /

crime scene

Mon, 4 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

This is a photo I took last spring break during a mission's trip in Mississippi. We were working on a nice lady's house by helping her with her roof. It is sad to see all the destruction that was caused by Hurricane Katrina. I just thought this scene was very fitting. It is a crime to see the lack of support that this area is seeing. These are people's homes, their memories. I just hope that all of this will be made right one day soon. It is hard to imagine what it must be like to loose one's home.

There is hope, however, that one day all things will be made right:

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed." Romans 8:18-19

A serious post, but it is worth mentioning that there is still a lot that needs to be done to clean up from Katrina. Thanks for those who recently left comments on a photo of mine. It is good to see that at least two people have seen my blog.

metal shop

Sun, 3 Feb 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I am still pretty bad about posting a photo each day. This photo blog is a work in progress.

This is yet another photo from my studio trip to the Elizabeth River. This photo was taken in a pretty neat metal fabrication shop--the shop that will actually be constructing our barge. If you are interested in learning about the studio project, check out the project's website.

Did anyone notice that I started three sentences with the word this?

This bothers me.

figure in the field

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Yet another photograph from my site visit to the Elizabeth River. I believe this is a large fuel storage tank. It is interesting to see these large figures on the very flat plane of the coast.

walking through the fields

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Another photo from the site visit to the Elizabeth River in Virginia. We were walking through the fields and I happend to look up and notice this. I believe this is wheat? I'm not 100% sure though.

two smokestacks

Sat, 26 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

It has been a while since I posted a photo on my blog. Too long. I have wanted to post some new photos, and never got around to posting anything. Hopefully I will be better about posting photos in the future.

Yesterday my architecture studio had a site visit and tour of the Elizabeth River (Virginia). I, of course, took my Nikon and Polaroid camera. In the next couple days I will post some of my favorite photos and polaroids from this trip. I do not take my camera around as much as I want to. Hopefully I will be shooting some more throughout the year. Perhaps even some random photography trips, my good friend e.scott agrees with this. We have both been pretty bad with posting photos lately. Hopefully you will start to see more photos on a regular basis from both of us.

polaroid x3

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

This is a series of Polaroids that I shot. The subject matter is the same but I “developed” each shot differently. The one on the far left was developed in room temperature. The middle photo was developed in my refrigerator. Last but not least, the photo on the right was developed in my freezer. I liked seeing how each developing temperature changed the appearance of the photo.

If you know of any other Polaroid tricks, please let me know!

polaroid #2 [feet]

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

My second Polaroid photograph, this time a self-portrait of sorts (my feet).

polaroid #1

Mon, 14 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I bought a Polaroid one600 camera and really wanted to try it out. The next couple posts will most likely be from that camrea. I'm still working on how to scan the polaroids in so they have the same qualities of the originals. I love my Nikon dSLR, but sometimes just crave the freedom of taking a photograph and seeing what the camera gives back.

book on the side of the road

Sun, 13 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I was stuck in traffic and noticed this book on the side of the road. I luckily had my camera with me, so I had to take some photos of this book.

bird on top of the world

Sat, 12 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

You might not be able to see it, but there is a bird on the very top of this building. I have looked at this photograph several times and never noticed it until I started processing in Photoshop.

Chairs at the Vatican

Fri, 11 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

A lot of chairs at the Vatican.

old love

Thu, 10 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

An old couple walking around Vicenza. I have been pretty bad about updating my blog these past couple days (ok, really the past week), sorry about that. I should be back into updating my blog on a regular basis now. To fill in the gaps, I have posted several photographs from my study abroad trip to Italy that I took this past summer. It was a critical drawing class with the University of Virginia's School of Architecture and a great time. It really was an once in a lifetime type trip. I'm so glad I went and I hope you enjoy the photographs.

vespa

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

A nice little Vespa near the Piazza dei Signori of Vicenza (more photographs of this Piazza can be found in earlier posts here and here).

raincoat

Tue, 8 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

I really enjoyed the raincoat in this photograph. Once I saw this person riding their bike, I just had to take a photograph. This is taken at the Piazza dei Signori of Vicenza (which can also be seen here).

Face

Mon, 7 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

A view of Vicenza streets, and the markings left by residents and visitors.

fire protection x2

Sun, 6 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Venezia (Venice). Not your typical photograph of Venice.

clothing market

Sat, 5 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Piazza dei Signori at Vicenza Italy on Market Day. Market Days are always a lot of fun, a ton of people always turn out.

chair

Fri, 4 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

A chair at La Rotonda in Vicenza Italy.

Iowa

Thu, 3 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Decided to post this photo today because of the Iowa caucus.

central park

Wed, 2 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

Someone playing clarinet in Central Park on a beautiful day.

tower #2

Tue, 1 Jan 2008 05:00:00 -0800

A water tower in New York. I took this photo during a trip with the School of Architecture.

tower

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Yet another view of the downtown mall in Charlottesville.

american fender jazz bass

Sat, 29 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

My 60th Anniversary American Fender Jazz Bass. Very pretty.

big brother

Fri, 28 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

There are cameras all over the place, so I figured to take a photo of one of the cameras.

soft + bricks

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

I wasn't sure what to call this photograph. Any thoughts?

Newspapers

Wed, 26 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

For some reason I really like the look of newspaper boxes. I don't know why.

Merry Christmas

Tue, 25 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

I know it is a late post, but I wanted to just say Merry Christmas before it turned midnight here!

Merry Christmas Eve

Mon, 24 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas Eve!

medium format?

Sun, 23 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Just playing with photoshop to see if I could get a Holga medium format look to my digital processing. I hope to buy a Holga sometime soon, we'll see.

didn't get the memo

Sat, 22 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

One chair didn't get the memo.

windows, signs, shadows

Fri, 21 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Yet another view of Charlottesville's Downtown Mall. I really have a lot of photos from that area of Charlottesville.

chairs

Thu, 20 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Chairs on Charlottesville's Downtown Mall.

Gas Station

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

At night we need and appreciate the light given off by utilitarian lights. We, however, do not usually notice or appreciate the objects that light our paths. One such utilitarian light system is found on gas station awnings across the country. I find beauty in the way in which the field of lights at the gas station illuminates the ground. I enjoy the contrast between the peaceful field of cool lights at the gas station and the red hot lights of cars zooming by.

A photo from my final photography project entitled stop_lights.

downtown mail #3

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Here is another view of Charlottesville's downtown mall. Yesterday I was in the studio for most of the day just trying to clean my desk up before the semester ends. Just with architecture work, it always takes longer to clean than I think it actually will. I was hoping to get out of the a.school by noon or 1 PM. I didn't get out of the architecture school until 4 something (my studio desk is very clean though haha)

mailbox

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Just a mailbox in Charlottesville that has a lot of character. I have been really working on my post production work with the past couple photos. I would love to hear some feedback -- the good, the bad, etc.

The Lawn at Christmas

Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Yesterday was our apartment Christmas. Fun times: presents, tons of food, Christmas lights, egg nog, a Christmas Carol. As with every year, we finish our light looking at the University of Virginia's Lawn. Since my studio deadline was last week, I had not seen this year's Lawn with the lights. This is one of several photos I took. I'm upset with the level of noise, but had to post one of these photos, hey it is Christmas!

fall retreat

Sat, 15 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

This photograph is from this year's fall retreat. The praise band played at this retreat as well. Between fall retreat and the weekend retreat before Thanksgiving, we have been able to play a lot this semester, which is great! I don't know if anyone is really watching my photoblog, but if you are, thanks and I hope you continue to come back!

camp

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

I played bass with a praise band at a camp outside Richmond earlier in the semester. A lot of fun, it was very cold though. Might be the reason I got sick the week afterwards? Still, a great weekend.

Vicenza, Italy

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Just remembering the great time I had in Italy this past summer. We stayed in the small town of Vicenza. I love how the reflections in this photograph turned out.

Late 4th of July

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

I know this post is a little late and I do know that today is not the 4th of July. I was looking through some of my photos from the summer and this would be one of those. This summer was a great one, went by way too fast though.

Rotunda #2

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

I forgot to upload a photograph last night and today is my architecture final project review. This is a photograph that I took a while ago with my Palm Pilot. I actually really like the imperfect qualities that the cheap camera allows.

downtown mall

Sun, 9 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

View of the Pavilion on Charlottesville's downtown mall. Now that I'm finished with my architecture final project, I hope to shot some new photographs soon.

Sky & Building

Sat, 8 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

A view of Culbreth Theatre at the University of Virginia.

The Rotunda

Fri, 7 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

The Rotunda at Mr. Jefferson's University of Virginia.

reading bench

Thu, 6 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Just a nice day at the University of Virginia. Photograph is taken of a student reading in one of the gardens found near the Lawn.

green door, green plant, newspaper

Wed, 5 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

NYC #2

Tue, 4 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

I love the way in which New York is constantly on the move, constantly changing.

NYC #1

Mon, 3 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

I always love visiting New York.

red cards

Sun, 2 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

This week is going to be a busy one since my final architecture project is due this Friday. Wish me luck!

and so begins a new photoblog

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 05:00:00 -0800

Welcome to my new photoblog. To welcome you on my photographic journey, I present to you my sister's cat Pickles: a very fun and spoiled cat of course. This is a photo of her relaxing on her favorite chair in the house. Every time you enter the house, you are sure to be greeted by Pickles.